The Anaconda Plan

So, the nation has split apart, I suppose it would be important to know what each side wanted and how they were going to do it.

The North's goal was simple; save the Union.



The South wanted to be left alone and the North to deal with the fact that they had slavery. They felt states rights were very important.


Both sides figured the war could only last about 3 months, they were very wrong.

The North seemed to have the upper hand in this. They had a bigger population and had 85% of the countries factories.





A northern general, Winfield Scott, came up with a plan to defeat the South. It would take these steps....

1. The Union Navy would blockade the South's Ports.



This would keep the South from importing needed supplies and exporting cotton to make money.

2. Capture the Mighty Mississippi to split the Confederacy in half.

3. Apply pressure until they can't take it any more and cry like small children and give up.



This plan was known as the Anaconda Plan *HISS*.

It was called this because the Anaconda is a giant snake that will squeeze the life out of you. Seriously, check out the Discovery Channel sometime.

This plan was set aside though, people wanted a short war, and all those steps would take time. They figured the best way to go about it was to capture the capital of the Confederacy, Richmond, Virginia.

The Border States

So, did all states that held slaves leave the Union? No, actually they did not. There were four states that held slaves but did not leave the Union, they were....




Delaware wasn't that big of deal, it had few slaves, so people were pretty sure it wouldn't leave.

Maryland was different, the Union could NOT lose Maryland.


So, why can't the Union lose Maryland? Well, Washington D.C. of course! If Maryland left, D.C. would be completely surrounded by the Confederates.



Lincoln put Maryland under martial law, this means peoples lives were overseen by the military, Big Brother really was watching.


Kentucky was important to keep in the Union because of the love of blue grass music. Nope, that's not the reason.

The reason was the Ohio River, the northern border of Kentucky is the Ohio River. The river was strategic for shipping supplies and it was a very good natural boundary between the two countries. In short, Kentucky was the bomb diggity (I'm so so sorry for typing that).

So if the Ohio River was important to Kentucky then Why do you think Missouri needed to be kept in the Union? If you guessed the picturesque Ozarks you would be wrong. If you guessed the Mississippi River, you would be correct.

The Mississippi River was the ultimate route straight into the belly of the beast. If the Union could control the Mighty Mississippi then they could get to New Orleans and other southern river cities easily and that would be extremely important.

The Civil War Begins...

South Carolina got together and talked about leaving the Union. This idea was easily passed with no objections.

Four days later, South Carolina issued the reasons why they were leaving.



After these reasons were stated, other states followed South Carolina's lead.

Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas all left. Eventually four other states; Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas warned that if the federal government used force against a state, they would leave too.

Lincoln now had to decide what he was going to do. He thought that if he pubically said something, he would make it worse, so he privately tried to talk southern leaders into staying in the Union.




Meanwhile, the South was forming their government. They chose Jefferson Davis as president and named their new nation the Confederate States of America.

Things reached a climax at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Even though South Carolina had succeeded, the fort was still controlled by the United States.

Jefferson Davis had to decide what to do, so he chose to attack.



On April 12, Confederates fired on Fort Sumter, the American Civil War had begun.

Ladies and Gentleman, Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln has been mentioned a few times, but this was where Lincoln really broke out. Lincoln was a man of humble beginnings. Born in Kentucky in a log cabin, he and his family moved to Illinois. This is why Illinois is the Land of Lincoln.



Growing up, Lincoln saw slavery and disliked it, he later became a legislator in the Illinois General Assembly. He spent some time in Vandalia, IL (we have historic sites to prove it). He married Mary Todd who was also crazy, but probably not John Brown Crazy.

He was then a Congressman then he went into political retirement.

His retirement was short lived, the Kansas Nebraska situation really bothered him. Stephen Douglas bothered him. He would face Douglas for a race for a Senate seat.




Lincoln and Douglas would take part in a series of debates that drew massive crowds.

They debated in 7 towns throughout Illinois, they stood on tree stumps!



Even though Lincoln did not like slavery, he was still a man of his times. In no way am I character assassinating Lincoln, but I think its important to not paint a pretty picture with no bad in it.

In a debate in Charleston, Illinois (Visit the Lincoln Douglas Debate Museum in Charleston, IL!!!), Lincoln said "I will say then, that I am not, nor have ever been in favor of bringing about in anyway social and political equality of the white and black races".

This will be interesting to remember, remember it, seriously.

When all the debates were over, Lincoln did not win the Senate seat. Some people would see this as a major loss, but it did make Lincoln pretty famous. It also made southerners not like Douglas all that much.

If you think Lincoln did a good job of getting his name out there then, just wait till he grows a beard.



A bearded Lincoln faced off against Douglas, John C. Breckenridge, and John Bell for president in the election of 1860.

This election was very sectional, Lincoln won the north, while Bell and Breckenridge split the south. Lincoln became the 16th president of the United States with less than 40% of the popular vote.




The North Celebrated




The South was concerned....



One week after Lincoln was elected, trouble started to brew...

Harper's Ferry

As one could imagine, this ruling by Chief Justice Taney angered many and made many happy. One of those people who got angry was our old friend, John Brown..and he was just as crazy as before.

He had an idea to establish a nation of freed slaves in the Southern Appalachian Mountains.




Brown Approached many Abolitionists for support. They were kinda creeped out.




But Brown was able to find one, Theodore Parker, who would finance a raid on an U.S. Arsenal at Harper's Ferry. There were lots of guns there. With the guns, he would arm slaves and then they would revolt.

Frederick Douglas tried to tell Brown that this plan probably wouldn't work, but remember, Brown is crazy.

One night in October, Brown and 21 followers captured the arsenal. Then they spread word to slaves to revolt.




None of the slaves were willing to run away and join the revolt.

In the morning, the local towns people surrounded Harper's Ferry with guns and trapped Brown and his people inside. Some were killed, including his sons. The rest were captured.

Brown and six others were caught and sentenced to hang, Brown never let up on his cause.

In the North, people questioned his sanity, but he was still seen as a hero.



On the Day that John Brown died, church bells rang throughout the north.

The Dred Scott Case

Things got fired up again because of a situation involving a man named Dred Scott.

Schott was a slave in Missouri, but often went with his master to Illinois where slavery was illegal.



He sued for his freedom. He figured by living in Illinois where slavery was illegal, he had become free.

Chief Justice Roger Taney came to the decision of this matter. Remember the 5th Amendment? You don't? Shame on you.

Well as a refresher, the 5th Amendment among other things, won't let the government take away life, liberty, or property without due process. Taney argued that this amendment protected the slave owners property rights.

Taney also said since Scott was black, he couldn't sue, he was not a citizen. He also said that the Missouri Compromise violated these same property rights and it is unconstitutional. This made things a lot lot worse.

The Beating of a Senator and the Election of a President

The Kansas issued spilled over into Washington D.C. as well. Senator Charles Sumner gave a two day speech about Lawrence and the outrage he felt. In it, he attacked South Carolina's Andrew Butler who was not present at the time.



Two days later, Butler's nephew, Preston Brooks, attacked Sumner on the Senate floor. He beat him over 30 times with a gold tipped cane.



This left Sumner unable to return to the Senate for three years. It left Brooks a hero of the South, many Southerners sent him canes to show support for the beating.

Clearly, this pro slave, anti slave thing was extremely intense.

The Election of 1856 was approaching and guess what the main issue was?!?! If you guessed Kansas, you would be correct. It was Democrat James Buchanan v. Free Soiler John Fremont. Once again, fear was a good motivator, Buchanan said that if a Republican was elected the country would fall apart. People took this warning and Buchanan became the 15th president of the United States.

Buchanan supported Popular Sovereignty, but he wasn't a fan of all the violence.


People were hopeful that things in Kansas would finally settle doown, but really, why would they?